ED STAFFORD // 50-54 MARK BILLINGHAM

DID I EVER TELL YOU ABOUT THE TIME I WALKED THE AMAZON?

Ed Stafford is one of those ephemeral figures that appear once or twice in a generation. Pushing the limits of physical and psychological experience has always been at the forefront of his various challenges.

Ed has communicated meaningful messages and new ways of thinking that have reshaped his life with the hope of positively influencing others. We caught up with Ed to discuss his life experiences and the lessons he has learned from a career of adventure and exploration.

WORDS & INTERVIEW JAI MCINTOSH

JAI Ed, you’re a man of many talents who has undertaken a considerable amount of seemingly impossible tasks. Did your early military career prepare you for your life as a survivalist and explorer or did you feel as though you have always had a hunger for adventure?

ES I think the military helped from the perspective of pushing us hard in training and I think I had a lot of experience in tough physical endurance sessions. To be able to draw on this memory bank during some of my later challenges and remember I have been able to get through tough challenges was really helpful. From a survival perspective, the military was utterly useless, we didn’t do any survival training. So I have had to learn as I went along.

JAI You spent seven years doing conservation expeditions for charity, spending a lot of time in the jungles of Borneo and throughout Central America. Then, you decided to walk the length of the Amazon. Considering it was your first expedition of this magnitude, what inspired this choice?

ES I have been quite open about getting into trouble in my early twenties, getting into fights and burning friendships. I think there was an element of escapism in walking the Amazon, creating a new life and getting away from everyday life was the goal.

" THE BIGGEST CATALYST FOR PERSONAL CHANGE WAS BEING ISOLATED ON THE ISLAND. IF YOU HAVEN’T GOT PEOPLE AROUND YOU, YOU HAVE SPACE FOR A PERSONAL EVOLUTION. ISOLATION IS LIKE A MIRROR. THERE IS NOTHING TO HELP YOU AVOID FEELING HOW YOU FEEL.

THE BIGGEST CATALYST FOR PERSONAL CHANGE WAS BEING ISOLATED ON THE ISLAND. IF YOU HAVEN’T GOT PEOPLE AROUND YOU, YOU HAVE SPACE FOR A PERSONAL EVOLUTION. ISOLATION

There was an insecurity at the root of it, explorers definitely don’t do what they do because they are well balanced, normal human beings. Having gone through the full circle of therapy around ten years ago, I was able to understand that having been adopted as a kid I was struggling with abandonment issues and felt I needed to beat my chest on a public stage to prove I was a worthwhile individual.

JAI What challenges have been the most psychologically challenging and has overcoming these aided your personal spiritual exploration?

ES The biggest catalyst for personal change was being isolated on the island. If you haven’t got people around you, you have space for a personal evolution I don’t think is possible with other people around. Isolation is like a mirror. There is nothing to help you avoid feeling how you feel. I didn’t arrive at any big epiphanies when I was there but felt I developed a new sense of self awareness. About eight months after I entered therapy for the first time, I couldn’t get out of bed, couldn’t travel for work, I was just crying in bed at the concept of packing. There is that cliche of breakdowns then breakthroughs and I think I needed that to build back in a stronger way. JAI Could you explain the three heads theory you have learned amongst the tribes people and the impact this has had on your life since?

ES An Aboriginal friend of mine, Jermey Donovan, explained to me that your brain is a super advanced tool. Every autonomous thought that is pinging off, whether they work in harmony or in conflict, you’re going to think you’re going mad as if it is not you, it is just a tool that is working too much. The Aborigines say you have three brains, instinctual thoughts should dictate actions, then these instinctual things pass through your emotions, almost like a filter, and then your logic is the last filter and is the smallest one. They use the same word to describe your logic as they do a tangled fishing net. It should be used as a tool but in western society we attribute our sense of self in this logical brain. The advice he gave me really did help but I struggled to take it on board during my time on the island but found it resonated well when I started meditating.

JAI You have walked the length of the Amazon, been marooned on an island with nothing, explored a Burmese jungle war, and ingratiated yourself within the homeless and the gypsie communities. There are at once physical and mental challenges that present themselves in various forms, but which are more challenging to deal with and why?

ES Well as I get older the physical challenges are the most difficult (laughs). I have done four episodes in the latest series of First Man Out and I have lost half of them already, it is getting fucking embarrasing. I get more of a kick out of the psychological challenges, I am not an athlete or a meathead but can get into the physical mindset. I do think going through these experiences outdoors is a really helpful tool in helping me and others work out psychological issues.

JAI How would you want your legacy and message to be characterised?

ES I genuinely don’t really mind about being remembered any more. I would have hugely minded ten years ago, building a legacy was all I wanted. If I can be the bloke that you’d like to go have a drink in the pub with, and my family are humble and healthy then I am happy.

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